Police Nab Suspected Architect of Mumbai Militant Rampage
The 2008 attacks killed 166 people and wounded another 300 across India's largest city.
| Posted Monday, June 25, 2012, at 10:15 AM
Photograph by Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images.
Indian authorities announced Monday that they have arrested a man they say was a key architect of the 2008 militant rampage in Mumbai that killed 166 people and wounded more than 300 others.
The Times of India reports that Abu Hamza—also known as Sayed Zabiuddin and Abu Jindal—is said to have help planned the attacks from Pakistan and also allegedly coached the 10 militant gunmen in how to speak Hindi. According to reports, the alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba militant has been identified as the voice taped guiding the attackers by phone. The only terrorist of the 10 attackers captured live testified in court that Abu Jindal tutored them. That attacker went on to receive a life sentence in 2010.
The formerly unidentified voice warned of more dramatic attacks on India in the future, saying "This is just a trailer; the entire movie is yet to come."
New Delhi authorities have long attributed responsibility for the attacks to Lashkar-e-Toiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist group. Among the targets of the 2008 shooting spree were a women's and children’s hospital, a train station, two five-star hotels, a street-side cafe, and a Jewish prayer center. In May, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton authorized a $10 million reward for information leading to the capture of the alleged militant.
Some local media report that Hamza was deported from Saudi Arabia and arrested upon landing in Delhi, according to Reuters.
